reply posted on behalf of Dick Stevenson

Hi David,

No, please do not make this your last word: you have a lot of good things to say. You have worked hard and anyone wishing to go downwind will benefit from your reports.

And I would very much hope to shift from a head-set of “last word” to one where we have exhausted what I hope to be experienced as suggestions that may prove helpful, probably not so much for you with your experience, but for others who might read this stream. Just as anyone reading your reports will benefit a great deal.

I suspect that I have a somewhat smaller boat as my 110% jib topsail is taut to the end of my carbon fibre 19 foot pole and I agree that getting things firmed up pays dividends at mitigating chafe.

Your analysis of the chafe occurring on downwind passages is right on. Chafe happens, but every now and again there is a way to prevent it: for years, I used a topping lift line (pole up haul) that came out of the mast and suffered chafe and occasional ruined halyard just as you reported. I then switched to use the spinnaker halyard as my topping lift. This halyard also emerges from the mast, but, on my boat, then goes through a block that articulates in all directions to give a fair lead and no chafe.

My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

I simply sail to a reach . Boat goes faster and is stable .
If I need a spinnaker I fly it minus pole . Helm then needs little adjustment . Read Eric Hiscock ^ Beyond the Western Horizon ^ if you dont believe me . I reef early and shake them out asap .

Hi Chris,
Thanks for your comments. Could you elaborate a bit?
When you say, “sail to a reach”, do you mean what is commonly called, gybing downwind? Destination dead-down-wind (DDW) and one gets there on broad reaches gybing when necessary.
Is the spinnaker referred to a symmetrical or asym? Without a pole are you sailing the spin like a big genny, tack at bow and sheeted well aft?
Thanks, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

[font=Helvetica]Symmetrical Headsails: We’d love to hear any experiences flying specialized "no-pole" spinnakers from two different companies: [/font]
[font=Helvetica]Parasail and Wingaker. We plan to sail from the Galapagos to the Marquesas in late March/April 2018. [/font]
[font=Helvetica]
[/font]
[font=Helvetica]Also, has anyone used the "steerable" Shark Drogue?[/font]
[font=Helvetica]
[/font]
[font=Helvetica]Thanks, Pam & Denis, s/v Glide[/font]